CHAPTER TOOLS

Keywords:

conventional economic production;

ecological economic systems;

ecosystems services;

supply chain management (SCM);

sustainable supply chains

Summary

This chapter reviews models of conventional and ecological economic systems and of varying conceptualizations of supply chain management. From this base, it offers a fresh synthesis of sustainable supply chain management and the concept of an ecological economic system. The authors evaluate the validity of this synthesis in describing and then discussing a qualitative case study of woollen carpet yarn manufacture, grounded in a life-cycle assessment of the production process and a 9-month field study of decision making in product creation, with a special interest in sustainable outcomes. The chapter also provides evidence to suggest that this conceptualization may offer a route to improving life cycle assessment as a means of analyzing the sustainability of a supply chain.